I Owned Every Second (That This World Could Give)
by WinterSky101
Summary: Ladybug and Chat Noir patrol Paris, looking for a villain they know is no longer there. Adjusting to not being needed anymore will take a while. Ladybug/Chat Noir. Fifth in "Take Us Down (And We Keep Trying)."


**I know there have been a lot of spoilers about season 2 of ML, but I've been avoiding all of them, so this fic will not be influenced in any way by those spoilers. All of my ML fics are 100% spoiler-free.**

 **Title is from "I Lived" by OneRepublic.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own ML.**

* * *

Ladybug stands on the roof the Grand Paris, looking over the city. She doesn't know why she's doing this. She was halfway out onto her roof when she realized she didn't need to patrol for akumas anymore. And yet, for some reason, she decided to patrol anyway. And now she's standing above a silent city, not sure what she's expecting to find, if anything at all.

"You too?" a rueful voice asks. Ladybug turns to see Chat Noir standing behind her, leaning on his staff. "I was halfway to the Eiffel Tower before I realized there wasn't much of a point in patrolling."

"There's not much of a need for superheroes without a super villain to fight, is there?" Ladybug asks with a sigh. She sits on the edge of the hotel roof.

A moment later, Chat sits next to her. "There's non-Miraculous crime in Paris," he offers. "But the police might not like it if we interfere with that."

"I mean, my grades will probably get better," Ladybug replies glumly. "More time for homework."

"And maybe you'll stop coming in late if you get a good night's sleep," Chat adds. "Honestly, how are you always late? You live _across the street_ from the school."

"Not everyone has a chauffeur," Ladybug retorts. "Or their own PA."

"She's my father's PA, technically," Chat protests.

"How are things going with your dad, anyway?" Ladybug asks, leaning her head against Chat's shoulder.

Chat sighs. "Same as usual," he replies. "He still doesn't think I should associate with people from school any more than absolutely necessary, but I reminded him of your hat and he still thinks it was great, so there's that."

"My parents want you to come over again," Ladybug tells Chat. "They said it _right_ after you left. If you're not careful, they might kidnap you."

"I can't say I'd mind," Chat replies. "I considered giving Father giving one of the cookies we made earlier, but I wasn't sure if he would think it was too plebeian to be baking for myself."

"Your dad thinks a lot of himself, doesn't he?" Ladybug asks. Her eyes go wide the second she says it. "Not in a bad way, I mean, I wouldn't want to offend him or insult him or-"

"You're not wrong, my lady," Chat interrupts. "He does think a lot of himself. And he thinks a lot of the Agreste name, which I happen to carry, so…"

"I saw your new billboard earlier," Ladybug teases.

Chat groans. "Don't remind me." He's complained about that billboard at length, hating the picture plastered over it. Ladybug doesn't see what the problem is. Perfume ads are always weird.

"Should I get a poster?" Ladybug asks innocently.

"You want a poster of me in your room?" Chat asks, sounding pleased and surprised. Ladybug decides not to mention that her room used to practically be _papered_ with pictures of Adrien Agreste.

"Well, I suppose I do see enough of your face as it is," Ladybug replies. "Don't know why I would want to see it even more."

"You know you love my face," Chat teases, kissing the top of Ladybug's head. If anyone is watching them, Ladybug's sure they're freaking out right now. She's glad that you can't see the Grand Paris from Alya's house.

"I suppose it is a pretty face," Ladybug allows.

"I am very _purr_ -ty," Chat agrees. Ladybug can't see his face, but she knows he has that stupid grin that appears whenever he makes a horrible pun. It's an expression she sees a lot of, all things considered.

"Pretty kitty," Ladybug coos, reaching up and scratching Chat under the chin. He bats her hand away.

"This is nice," Ladybug remarks after a long moment of silence. "It's peaceful up here."

"It is," Chat agrees. "We could do it more often. Since we won't need to patrol anymore."

Ladybug sighs and lifts her head up. "I didn't think… I mean, I always wanted us to defeat Hawk-Moth, but I guess I didn't really think about it happening, you know? And I didn't think about what it would be like after."

"Well, Plagg says there's another Miraculous missing, so we might have to fight them too," Chat offers.

Ladybug laughs. "If that was meant to cheer me up, it was a weird way to go about it."

"It got you laughing, didn't it?" Chat retorts.

"Tikki says that we can keep the Miraculous for now," Ladybug says, leaning back and looking up at the stars. "We might not need them for a while, but we can keep them."

"Plagg said so too," Chat agrees. "He says he'll stick around for as long as he can so he can keep getting cheese."

Ladybug grins. "Tikki always said that the fact that my parents own a bakery has nothing to do with her choosing me, but I'm not entirely sure that's true."

"Even if it was, she made the right choice," Chat declares. "You're a great Ladybug."

"I was a great Ladybug, you mean," Ladybug sighs. "And now… I mean, does it count when we don't have anyone to fight?"

"I think it does," Chat replies placidly. "We can use our Miraculous for other things too. Sometimes I use my powers to get places quickly when I need to escape Natalie or the Gorilla."

"Sometimes I use my powers to get to places on time if I'm running late," Ladybug admits. "But we're not really being superheroes with that."

"I guess not," Chat replies. "But we can still patrol, just in case. I bet I can get to the Eiffel Tower first!"

"Wait- What? Chat!" Ladybug cries, but Chat Noir is already racing across the rooftops. Ladybug gives chase and quickly catches up. "You have to do better than that to beat me," she teases, pulling in front.

"Nice try," Chat retorts, pouring on the speed. Ladybug tries to go faster, but she can't beat Chat. The best she can do is stay neck and neck with him. They arrive at the Eiffel Tower at the same moment, looking at each other and laughing.

"Pound it!" Chat declares gleefully.

Ladybug laughs and bumps fists with him. "It's such a beautiful view," she sighs, looking over Paris. "I'll miss it."

"We don't have to miss it," Chat replies. "Why don't we meet up here sometimes? Not every night, but maybe once a week."

"It would probably be best if it weren't a school day," Ladybug replies. "Maybe Saturday night?"

"Saturday at midnight?" Chat offers.

"Saturday at midnight," Ladybug agrees. "You know people are going to figure out our schedule and try to stalk us, right?"

"Eh." Chat shrugs. "They're mostly harmless. I mean, it's most likely that it would be Alya."

"I wish I could tell her," Ladybug admits. "She asked so many questions about us and I had to lie to her because I couldn't tell her that I'm Ladybug and you're Chat Noir."

"Why don't you tell her?" Chat asks. "She'll keep it a secret if you ask her to. She might even be able to help you lay some false trails with the Ladyblog. And it's not like we have to worry about Hawk-Moth anymore."

"I don't know," Ladybug sighs. "Do you think she'll be mad I didn't tell her?"

"I don't think so," Chat replies. "Even if she is, she won't be mad for long. You know Alya."

"Oh, Alya can definitely hold a grudge," Ladybug groans.

"Not with you, though," Chat counters. "Why don't we tell her and Nino?"

"I don't know…" Ladybug looked down at her lap. "I know we can trust them, but I'm just worried…"

"They can't give away information they don't know," Chat says. "But I don't think they'd give it up anyway."

"I know they wouldn't," Ladybug replies. "But… I don't know."

"We've gotten used to no one knowing," Chat says quietly, looking out across Paris. "Sometimes I forget that I can talk to you about stuff going on at home. Sometimes I forget that I know your secret identity. It's only for a second, but-"

"But it happens anyway," Ladybug finishes. "I know how you feel."

Chat looks at Ladybug through his lashes. "But I think we should tell Alya and Nino anyway."

"Okay," Ladybug states bravely. "We'll do it. They should know." Ladybug looks down. "Do you think I should tell my parents?"

"I'm not telling my dad," Chat replies immediately. "But I think your parents would take it better than my dad would."

"They probably would," Ladybug replies. "But they'll be worried. And they might be upset that I didn't tell them before. I bet they'll ground me."

"We can't have Ladybug grounded," Chat replies in a faux serious voice, shaking his head. His eyes sparkle with amusement.

"Then I should get home," Ladybug declares. "It's getting late, and we have school tomorrow."

"Did you understand the history homework?" Chat asks.

Ladybug makes a face. "Maybe. I'm not sure."

"Neither am I," Chat replies. He stands. "I suppose we'll find out if we did it right tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow, then," Ladybug says. Chat offers her hand to help her up. Ladybug holds his hand a second longer than he needs to.

"See you tomorrow," Chat says, bringing Ladybug's hand to his lips and brushing a kiss over her knuckles.

"You're ridiculous," Ladybug laughs, but she pulls Chat closer and gives him a quick kiss on the lips.

"If Alya's watching this, she's probably having a heart attack," Chat murmurs against Ladybug's lips.

"Let her," Ladybug replies, and she kisses Chat again, cupping the back of his head with one hand as she holds him against her.

They finally break apart, both a little flushed. Ladybug recovers first and winks at Chat.

"See you tomorrow," she says again, and she throws her yo-yo and jumps off the Eiffel Tower. A moment later, she sees Chat jump away as well.

She's not a superhero in the same way anymore, Ladybug thinks to herself as she goes back to her house. But she's still Ladybug, and Chat is still Chat, and they'll figure things out. After all, they always do.


End file.
